Asia Pacific Poker Tour

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is young, but set to become one of the world’s richest poker tournaments, with big prize pools and exciting competition. See here for full details.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) is the latest international tournament to have hit online and offline casinos, and is predicted to be the world’s richest on offer. Beginning in only August 2007, it spans across the Asia-Pacific from Korea to Australia, and stops at some of the most luxurious casinos on the way, including the exotic Caribbean, the Philippines, and Seoul.

The APPT is sponsored by PokerStars.net, and according to its co-founder, Sarne Lightman, it will bring “a whole new dimension to poker in Asia, and marks poker's emergence into a truly global sport”. Season one kicked off at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila, and saw a 22 year old student take home nearly $180,000 in cash for a pair of 10’s 1st place win. The tournament will then move on to The Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel and Casino in Seoul, and finally, culminate with a Grand Final at the Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia.

The simplest way to enter the competition is to qualify online at the PokerStars.net satellite tournaments, which are held approximately one month before the tour begins, with daily qualifiers starting from as little as $22. Winners of the satellites are awarded a $5,000 prize package including $2,500 tournament buy-in, 4 nights accommodation, and $1,800 for travel expenses. For direct buy-in into the tournament, a wire transfer or bank draft can be sent to PokerStars, or paid in person at the casinos before the given deadline. All dates and deadlines are published on the APPT official website – www.appt.com. The site also displays all the tournament schedule information, including games, times, dress codes, and more